Creepy catacombs

Palermo Travel Blog

Franceso had work today, but had
pointed out some places we might like to visit. We were quite tired
from the travelling yesterday so it was a slow start to the day. The
priority for today was to book the next portion of the holiday and
also work out how to get there. We spend a long time at the internet
cafe searching the different options. We had originally only planned
to be in Palermo for 2 nights but that meant the flights were very
expensive being a Saturday, so we extended the Palermo portion until
Monday. It worked out well as it meant we could spend the weekend
with Francesco and we weren't rushed.

With flights booked to Madrid,
accommodation in Madrid and Valencia sorted and a rough plan as to
how and where we would be going next week, we ventured out for a
little walk around town.

The cathedral

Palermo is a hectic place, traffic and
people everywhere, but it's also beautiful with lots of different
styles of architecture. We headed east from the Quattro Canti (which
was where the internet was) towards the catacombs. On the way there
we (and a few tour groups) stopped in to look at the Cathedral. It's
big and elegant just like all the cathedrals and it had a nice area
outside to sit and have a quick bite to eat.

About 20mins walk later in the hot sun
we made it to the catacombs. It's not very well sign posted, but a
monk happened to see us looking around aimlessly and waved us over.
Now you can't take any photos in here, but it's really quite eery and
spooky so it's not something you'd want a photo of up on the wall.
Walking through the catacombs was really creepy, it's so quiet and
seeing all the clothed skeletons (some still with skin and hair) all
along the walls is weird.

But it was also interesting to read that
it was their wish to be put on display after being preserved for a
number of months by various means.

After this we needed to see some
sunshine and normality and put the creepiness out of our mind.
Thankfully Francesco had finished work so we met up with him and he
took us for a quick walk around town. On the walk we stopped in at a
patisserie and enjoyed the local treat of a large cannelloni. These
things are fantastic! Francesco advised that they are a sweet to
enjoy late afternoon well before dinner as they are quite heavy. We
were happy to follow the instructions.

That night Francesco cooked up some
fantastic traditional carbonara which is completely different to the
way we make it.

We enjoyed some local wine while tucking into the
dinner before enjoying a simple desert of chopped nectarines in sugar
and wine. We met up with some of his friends for a drink and then
headed off to see a free outdoor concert. We were told that today is
the anniversary of the deaths of the two senior government officials
that were killed by the mafia because of the investigation they were
involved in. There were a lot of people enjoying themselves, singing
and dancing. We left the concert still in full swing at around 1am
and headed home.